Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 2023 Feb;105(2):162-165. doi: 10.1308/rcsann.2021.0367. Epub 2022 Apr 21.
High false-negative results have been reported for fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology in thyroid nodules. Fine-needle capillary (FNC) cytology is an alternative technique that prevents aspiration, reducing tissue damage. This study aimed to compare FNA and FNC in assessing thyroid nodules and in terms of their predictive role in the appropriate diagnosis of malignancy.
This is a comparative prospective study conducted on 486 patients. FNA was performed in 235 patients during 2016 and 2017 and FNC in 251 patients during 2018 and 2019. The quality of cytological specimens was compared and then correlated with the final histopathological findings of 39 patients who underwent thyroidectomy.
Both groups were statistically similar regarding age and sex distribution. The FNA technique yielded significantly higher adequate specimens compared with FNC (<0.001). Abundant blood in the background was found more frequently in the FNA technique (<0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of FNA for malignancy diagnosis were both 100%, compared with 83.3% and 57.7% for FNC, respectively.
The two methods, FNA and FNC, did not differ in terms of overall quality. FNA was superior regarding consistency with the histopathological results and the ability to diagnose malignancy.
细针抽吸细胞学（FNA）在甲状腺结节中的假阴性结果较高。细针毛细血管（FNC）细胞学是一种替代技术，可防止抽吸，减少组织损伤。本研究旨在比较 FNA 和 FNC 在评估甲状腺结节方面的作用，以及它们在恶性肿瘤的适当诊断中的预测作用。
这是一项比较前瞻性研究，共纳入 486 例患者。2016 年至 2017 年期间对 235 例患者进行 FNA 检查，2018 年至 2019 年期间对 251 例患者进行 FNC 检查。比较了细胞学标本的质量，并与 39 例接受甲状腺切除术患者的最终组织病理学结果进行了相关性分析。
两组患者的年龄和性别分布均具有统计学可比性。FNA 技术获得的充分标本明显多于 FNC（<0.001）。FNA 技术中背景中血液丰富的情况更为常见（<0.001）。FNA 对恶性肿瘤诊断的敏感性和特异性均为 100%，而 FNC 分别为 83.3%和 57.7%。
FNA 和 FNC 两种方法在总体质量方面没有差异。FNA 在与组织病理学结果的一致性以及诊断恶性肿瘤的能力方面优于 FNC。
